New CBC Report Says Medicine Hat, Canada to Power Down Hut 8’s $100 Million Bitcoin Mining Farm

It looks like cryptocurrency mining might be endangered in Canada. The largest mining facility in Canada will maybe have its power cut off by the government. Due to growing environmental issues, Hut 8’s Bitcoin mining operation in Medicine Hat might be doomed.

The issue stems from intensive heat waves that are affecting the area. As the $100 million USD Bitcoin mining farm is not considered to be a priority or vital enough, its energy will be cut off.

This facility is based on southeast Alberta and it is reported to use about 10 times more electricity than any other facility of any kind in the region. The facility, which is known as the biggest operation in Canada, employs 40 people. The main issue comes as environmentalists and residents dislike the facility and believe that it spends far too much energy.

Heat Waves Push Residents To Spend Electricity

According to the reports, the heat waves have been very severe in the country, which is known for its cool climate. As the heat waves peaked in June, the city saw its highest levels of energy be used in years and the residents rushed to get air conditioners working as a way to look for some relief against the record humidity levels that they are facing right now.

It is also important to notice that environmentalists that are campaigning against Hut 8 believe that the company is very damaging and it is using a lot of energy for such a “frivolous” enterprise. As the energy does not come from renewable sources, even the residents are not very happy with the mining operation.

Despite the enormous energy costs of the operation, it is very relatively small-sized, having about 56 containers with 180 mining servers within mining Bitcoin.

The company reports to be mining around 20 BTC daily ($132 thousand USD) and has mined 3,300 BTC in less than a year since it was founded in December last year.

A Battle For Energy

The topic is certainly controversial. While the Greenpeace spokesperson, Keith Stewart, believed that the Bitcoin algorithm is too wasteful, some Bitcoin evangelists like Andreas Antonopolous believe that it is not and both sides surely have their own motivations to defend their views.

Only one aspect is certain: the city of Medicine Hat only has fossil fuels to power either its lucrative Bitcoin miners or the population so, in a case like the heating waves, it is pretty clear that the government will lean on the side of the people over a few rich miners. So, unless Hut 8 switches its energy, it is probably doomed.